“So, still, it sounds like you want to leave me high and dry. I don’t like that.”
“Jaylin, what’s mine is yours. You’re still in control of your own destiny. If you love me, I don’t understand why you’re giving this much thought. It’s simple. And, if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d hand everything over to you on a silver platter.”
“Well, the shoe ain’t on the other foot, damn it. You got me in a bind and I need some time to think about this.”
“Take all the time you need. But, the sooner we can come to a resolution with this, the happier I will be and we can focus on repairing our marriage. You want that to happen, don’t you?”
“You know I do, but I got a feeling that if I take too much time with this, that baby you’re having will never see daylight. Nokea, I swear to you that if you have an abortion, I will never, ever forgive you.”
“Don’t base your decision on me being pregnant, because I told you that I didn’t think I was. You’re giving us false hope and I don’t want to disappoint you again.”
Thinking hard, I told Nokea I’d be right back. I couldn’t help but walk down the hall and shake my head. I stand to lose a lot, but the big questions were . . . was Nokea worth it, did I trust her, and could I agree to never react as I did this time around? I went into my office and closed the door. I sat at my desk and picked up a picture of my kids. After gazing around at the many pictures of me and Nokea, I reached for the phone to call Frick.
His secretary answered.
“James Frick, please,” I asked.
“He’s on another call. Who shall I say is calling?”
“It’s Jaylin Rogers and, uh, tell him to hurry and wrap up his call. This is important.”
“Hold on, Mr. Rogers.”
A few seconds later, Frick got on the phone. “If you’re in jail, I can’t help you,” he said.
I laughed. “You’d better be able to help me, but this time, all I need is your advice, and possibly, a contract.”
“I’m listening,” Frick said.
I broke everything down to him. Once I finished, he was very quiet. He cleared his throat. “Are you even considering something like that? Jaylin, that’s a bad move. You’ve worked too hard to get to where you are. I like Nokea a lot, but she shouldn’t be requesting that of you. I guess it all boils down to trust. Can you trust her?”
“Yeah, I trust her. And, Nokea knows that I will seriously hurt her if she ever denied me my money. Our children, I’m not too worried about them because I won’t have a problem being faithful to her.”
“You just told me that, less than a month ago, you had sex with another woman. Are you sure this is something you want to do? I think you need to take as much time as possible to think about this. You are worth millions and I’d hate to see anybody walk away with it. I’m not comfortable with drawing up a contract of that nature, but it’s your call. I will add every clause possible to protect you, but again, I don’t like it.”
“I’m not too thrilled about it either, but it’s what my wife wants. I told her I’d do anything to make this work and I meant it. Start putting a contract together for me and call me once you have everything in writing.”
“What about your will? Any changes need to be made to that?”
“Nope. Nokea is my sole beneficiary and Nanny B my contingent. I don’t think any changes need to be made to it.”
“Okay, then what if anything happens to Nokea? Everything you own could be tied up in probate because your name isn’t on it. Now, I can make you the executor, but you still might have some issues. As for the accounts, you’d have to stay on as the secondary account holder. This will allow you to withdraw from the accounts, but Nokea can stop access to you at any time. By the way, does Nokea’s will list you as the beneficiary too?”
“Yes. That’s all taken care of. Just make sure all of those accounts are set up where I can still get to my money.”
“No problem, but I will have to get you to sign off on numerous papers. How soon do you need to get this done?”
“As soon as possible. Once you have everything ready, can you bring the papers to me so we can sit down with Nokea and discuss everything? Possibly within the next two or three days?”
“Two or three days is going to cost you,” he laughed. “That’s a lot of work . . . .”
“Whatever it is, you know I’m good for it.”
“Always,” he said and laughed. “That’s why I rush off the phone when you call.”
“I’ll bet,” I laughed back and hung up on him. I sat for a few more minutes thinking, and couldn’t help but call Shane.
“I take it breakfast must have failed,” he said, sounding sleepy.
“Are you still in the bed? It’s almost 11:00. I can’t believe you’re still sleeping.”
“When we spoke earlier, didn’t I tell you that I didn’t get to bed until after five? Shit, I’m tired.”
“Well, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have to be very sure about something. While you and Nokea were sexually forced at the motel, did you release anything inside of her? I’m asking because she might be pregnant and you know I don’t want no shit.”
Shane was quiet, and then rushed his response. “Jay, I was too mad to release anything inside of her. My dick barely got hard and I am one hundred and ten percent positive that nothing came from me.”
“Nothing?”
“Not a drop. If she’s pregnant, how far along is she?”
“I don’t know because she hasn’t been to the doctor yet. I’m sure it’s been a minute because she’s been throwing up for a while now. In addition to that . . .” I filled Shane in on Nokea’s requests.
“Hell motherfucking naw!” he laughed. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. I just talked to Frick about the shit a li’l while ago.”
“Talked to Frick about what? Are you considering it?”
“Yeah, it’s in the making, as we speak. Basically, I had no choice and you know that this money means nothing to me, if I don’t have Nokea and my kids.”
“Jay, I have to say that you continue to shock me, but there is no way in hell I would have done anything like that. Nokea deserves a lot of what you have, but . . . I don’t know about everything.”
“Listen, if you think about it, it’s really not a big deal. I still have access to my money and all I’m doing now is sharing everything with my wife. I should have been doing that all along, so what’s the difference?”
“The difference is, she’ll be in control of everything now. If you fuck up, she can cut your finances and the relationship with your kids completely off. Are you willing to take that risk?”
“Nokea would never deny me either. And if she did, I would make her life so miserable that she would regret ever fucking me over. I trust her with everything I own. If I wasn’t out here tripping, maybe we wouldn’t even be here.”
Shane and I chatted for a little while longer. Like Frick, he continued to stress that I needed to rethink some things, mainly because they didn’t trust me to be faithful. With all that was at stake, I knew I could be the best husband ever.
I left my office and made my way back into the bedroom. Nokea wasn’t on the bed, but I looked in the bathroom and saw her in the bathtub. She was relaxed and her head was resting on a pillow. I cleared my throat and sat on the edge of the tub. She opened her eyes.
“I thought hard about what you said and I called Frick to make the arrangements. He’ll be here in a couple of days to work out the details. Before then, is there anything else you’d like for me to do?”
Nokea puzzlingly looked at me and rolled her finger around her lips. “I want you to take off your clothes and get into the tub with me. Wash me like you always do, and I will do the same in return. Sex between us will happen in due time, but I just want to be as close to you right now as I possibly can.”
I stepped out of my pajama pants and eased myself behind Nokea. She lay her back against me, holding
my arms tightly around her waist.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“And, I love you more.”
Chapter 22
Nokea
I wished things didn’t have to be this way, but I was not going to lose out again. For now, I didn’t trust Jaylin as far as I could see him. If he went off on another one of his rendezvous, I was not going to leave me and my children without.
We got married so quickly that money issues were never discussed. I felt content with my bank account, but every account that I had, Jaylin’s name always came before mine. Yes, all of the money was his, but I’d given up my life and career in St. Louis just to be with him. I did it because I loved him, so I didn’t think it was selfish of me to ask him to do the same in return. Besides all of that, I had his children and took good care of my family. I wasn’t looking to be rewarded through money. All I ever wanted was for Jaylin to do right by me and his kids. By being with Scorpio, he failed me. This was the only way I’d get what was due to me. If he ever turned to her again, he’d pay for it dearly.
Frick was supposed to come by today. Before our meeting with him, I finally made a doctor’s appointment. Jaylin had been working my nerves and I had to know what was going on with me. On our way to the doctor, he was excited, but I had some doubts. I wasn’t concerned with the baby being Shane’s, because neither of us came that day at the motel. Anyway, my sickness started way before the real deal between us went down and Shane used a condom. If I was pregnant, it was definitely Jaylin’s baby. My sickness didn’t feel like it did when I was pregnant with LJ or Jaylene. I had more like an ill feeling inside and the feeling gave me regular headaches.
Either way, we were at the doctor’s office to see what was up. When the nurse called my name, Jaylin stood up to go into the examination room with me.
“Baby, stay out here. As soon as I find out what’s going on, I’ll come share the news with you.”
He hesitated, but took a seat. I followed behind the nurse as she led me to the examination room. She asked me to remove my clothes. When I put on a gown, I waited for my doctor to enter the room. When he came in, he smiled and looked at me on the examination table.
“How’s my girl doing,” he said, always very upbeat. He was a Black older doctor who had broken the news to Jaylin and me about my inability to conceive. I felt comfortable with him and that’s why I stuck with him.
I explained my sickness to him and he quickly ordered some tests. The pregnancy test was first and then he did several more tests. He told me to relax and said he’d be right back.
Dr. James’ right back status turned into him being gone for over an hour. Even Jaylin had come into the room with me and he paced the floor, until finally taking a seat on the stool.
“What is taking so long?” he griped.
“I don’t know, baby, but you’re really making me nervous. Will you relax, please?”
Jaylin seemed a bit more relaxed when Dr. James came back into the room. He shook hands with Jaylin and then pulled up a stool in front of us.
“I apologize for taking so long, but I had to look at all your tests. I know you guys are anxious to know about the pregnancy test, but I’m sorry, it came back negative.” Dr. James paused, as Jaylin got up and left the room. “Again, I’m sorry,” Dr. James said looking at me.
“You don’t have to apologize. I had a feeling that I wasn’t pregnant.”
“I know how anxious you and your husband are to have children, but again, the possibilities are slim. That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen and I see miracles happen every day. You might want to stress that to him.”
“I will. But in the meantime, what’s going on with me?”
“Nothing that a little rest, maybe some medication, and taking a bit more care of yourself can’t cure. You’re in pretty good health, Nokea, but your blood pressure was slightly high. Not too much to worry about, but I think that might be why you’re having those headaches. Your regurgitating episodes might have come from stress. If you’ve been under a lot of pressure, your body might be reacting. The flu has been going around too. I’ll give you a flu shot before you go. Other than that, you’re good. Again, I wouldn’t give up on your attempts to conceive a baby because you just never, ever know.”
I took a deep breath. I was glad to hear there was nothing seriously wrong. I was disappointed about not being pregnant. Even though I said I wasn’t ready for another child, a huge part of me kind of hoped I was pregnant. I had a feeling Jaylin had set himself up for major disappointment. I hurried back into my clothes to go check on him.
Once the nurse gave me a few prescriptions, I left the room and headed out into the waiting area. Jaylin was sitting in a chair massaging his hands together while looking down at the floor. I stepped up to him and he lifted his head to look up at me.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I have slightly high blood pressure, minor stress or possibly the flu.”
He stood up and took my hand. “Come on, let’s go,” he said.
When we got to our Hummer, he opened the door for me and I got inside. Before he started the truck, I placed my hand over his. “Dr. James said there is still a chance for us. He encouraged us to keep trying. Don’t give up on me. I need for you to stop walking away from situations when you get angry. Can you do that for me?”
Jaylin didn’t say a word. He started the truck and drove off. In less than thirty minutes, we were home. Frick was supposed to be there in an hour. I knew Jaylin wasn’t up to our meeting. I told him to call Frick to see if he could come by later.
“Naw, let’s get this over with,” he said, tossing his jacket on the bed. He walked out of the room. I could tell how upset he was about me not being pregnant.
Almost an hour later, Frick showed up. Jaylin invited him in. Once he toured him around the house, they took a seat in the Great Room. Shortly after, the doorbell rang again and I answered. It was an attorney, Mr. Perry, whom I recently retained to help me with this matter. He walked in and I introduced him to Jaylin and Mr. Frick. They both stood up and shook his hand. Jaylin gave me a strange look, but there was no way for me to go through these contracts with Jaylin and Frick without representation. Frick always had Jaylin’s back, and I knew for a fact that he wasn’t happy about Jaylin’s decision to do this.
“Please have a seat,” I said to Mr. Perry. He was a sharp dresser and reminded me a lot of P Diddy. Jaylin and Frick looked him over from head to toe.
Remaining calm, I took a seat right next to Jaylin. I didn’t want him to feel that I was against him because I wasn’t. I just had to make sure some things . . . well, a lot of things changed.
Frick pulled out three stacks of papers. He kept a copy, handed one to Jaylin and gave the other to me. I gave my copy to my attorney and looked at Jaylin’s copy with him. As Frick started to read it, within the first paragraph, we already had some issues. My attorney complained about the constant uses of the words, “reversal” and “termination of contract.”
Perry looked at Jaylin. “Mr. Rogers, maybe your attorney isn’t clear about what your wife is asking. All of this is unnecessary. The second paragraph states that, the seven bank accounts listed above shall be transferred in the name of Nokea Rogers and she shall remain the primary signee on such accounts so as long as, a) . . . b) . . . c) . . . d) . . . e) . . . f) . . ., etc. If any of these instances shall arise, then all of the above accounts shall revert back to the previous signee and owner of the accounts, Jaylin J. Rogers, and this entire agreement becomes null and void.” Mr. Perry looked at Mr. Frick. “Give me a break. If Mrs. Rogers even sneezes, this contract terminates. You didn’t expect for her to sign anything like this, did you?”
Frick looked at Jaylin. “I’m just trying to be reasonable and do what’s best for you. If you want to make any changes, just let me know.”
Jaylin sat back on the couch and rested his arms on top of it. “I know you got my back, but let’s do this and do it
right.”
Frick cut his eyes and continued. Every single paragraph, Mr. Perry tore it apart. I couldn’t believe the many stipulations Frick had put into the contract. I think even Jaylin got frustrated. Either way, we spent the next several hours, “working things out.” What shocked me the most was when Frick revealed Jaylin’s total “money on hand.” I was in disbelief. After all this time, I never knew what it was. I didn’t ask because his money didn’t faze me. All I knew was, we didn’t want for anything. Everything we wanted was well within our reach. I’d estimated more than $10 but less than $15 million, but the totals revealed in the contract averaged out to be approximately $41.9 million dollars. Those totals were only his “money on hand” and did not account for his net worth. Frick never specified what that was. The bank account statements showed earned interest on money he’d had in the bank for many years. His stocks and mutual funds had made him a fortune, and several real estate deals he’d gotten into since we moved to Florida had really paid off. I was amazed and the expression on my face showed it. As his wife, how could I not know about all of this? Jaylin had never mentioned any of this to me. If I had known he had this much, I never would have asked him for such a huge request.
Once all of the changes were worked over, Frick lay several authorization papers in front of Jaylin. One by one, Jaylin signed them. Before he signed the last one, he turned his head and looked at me.
“I told you I’d do anything for you, didn’t I?” he said. He scribbled his signature, dropped the pen on the table, stood up and looked at Frick. “I got a headache so I’m going to get some rest. Thanks for everything. Once all of the amendments are made, make sure we receive copies.”
He shook hands with Frick, then with Mr. Perry. As Jaylin walked off to our room, he told me to walk them out of my house. He smiled, giving me a wink.
I thanked Frick and Mr. Perry for their time and escorted them to the door. Once they left, I went to our bedroom. Jaylin was lying sideways on the bed. His eyes focused on the TV, but I knew he saw me come through the door. I went over to the bed and lay sideways in front of him.
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